


The C-Sec Chronicles

by kroganwarrior22



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Detective Noir, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, M/M, Murder Mystery, Post-Canon, Slow Burn, Thriller
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:27:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25196929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kroganwarrior22/pseuds/kroganwarrior22
Summary: Ten years after the Crucible event, Detective Lem'Nara Vas Citadel must solve seemingly unconnected brutal murders before they destroy the bonds Commander Shepard worked so hard to build. AU crime/noir story taking place after the events of Mass Effect 3 with multiple OC's and cameos, rated explicit for violence, language, eventual lewds, and themes.
Relationships: Garrus Vakarian/Original Male Character(s), Male Shepard/Tali'Zorah nar Rayya
Kudos: 4





	1. Prologue: Day in the Life

**Author's Note:**

> Hi stranger and thank you for the click, I just want to say a few things before we get started. For starters, this is in no way shape or form connected to my Jack Shepard series. Different Shepard with different crew relationships and who might not appear. ;) I'm not abandoning my other stories but seeing as RotR will end in a very different place, I wanted to show a Post Reaper Milky Way galaxy from my perspective. Expect not very frequent updates for the first month or so as I'm going to be cycling between this and my other works. I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!

Lem opened his eyes slowly to the sound of an old Human song he had made into an alarm clock. The tune was upbeat yet not over dramatic in it's messaging, specifically telling the listener everything was going to be alright. He needed that kind of affirmation a lot these days when the rest of the world always seemed to be testing that message. When he volunteered to join the Flotila's military forces ten years ago Lem never imagined he, along with the majority of the Quarian military, would be stranded millions of lightyears away from the homeworld forever. The sight of the Charon Mass Relay bursting into flames from his gun emplacement on the Qwib-Qwib still haunted his dreams. Supposedly, engineers from every race were trying to reactivate the Relay but he doubted it would happen in his lifetime. If he had known what was going to happen, would he have volunteered to go? Or would Lem have stayed to enjoy Rannoch longer?

The question had no time to stay in Lem's mind as he was already up preparing himself a nutrient paste breakfast. Unlike the plurality of Quarians who stayed on the Flotila where they were most comfortable, Lem moved to the Kithoi Ward on the Citadel which was now orbiting Earth. Since they no longer had access to the Mass Relay network, Quarians couldn't just use their Pilgrims to grab everything useful from a planet and then run off. Along with all of the other races stuck in the Sol system, Quarians had to learn what it was like to have a symbiotic relationship with the other races. Thankfully Commander Shepard's marriage to now Tali'Shepard Vas Earth kept relationships between their respective species peaceful overall. And the same could be said of most of the societal relationships in general. Dextro veterans stayed on the Kithoi Ward, Krogan and other Terminus vets kept tight control of the Bachjret Ward, the Council Races held the Tayseri Ward, and the unfortunately few Citadel survivors were still trying to repair the Zakea Ward. All the while most of Humanity who used to live on the Citadel moved back to Earth.

While his paste was warming up, Lem activated the vid screen to listen to the morning news, "I'm Katherine Weathers and here are your top stories this morning. Thirty five year old Linea T'Nor was found in the basement of a Volus merchant last night. C-Sec authorities have reported to ENN that the Volus in question, one Artok Bal, intended to sell Linea on the black market. This is what Executor Vakarian had to say on the subject."

An image of his Turian boss flashed on the screen, Lem could see he was exhausted. "Good day everyone, I'm sure everybody has a lot on our minds right now so I'm going to keep this brief. Due to the tireless actions of lead investigator Lem'Nara Vas Citadel and the entire C-Sec Major Crimes Unit, we were able to determine...ahem...little Linea was being held in the home of a wealthy merchant transporting slaves between the Kithoi and Bachjret Wards. We were thankfully able to find Linea before Mr. Bal's next shipment. The investigation will continue to be on going to determine whether or not Bachjret authorities were aware of the slave trade. Thank you."

Katherine's round Human face filled the screen again, "It is still unclear how far an investigation will go seeing as C-Sec has very little jurisdiction over the Bachjret Ward. In other news-"

Lem shut off the vid screen with a sigh wishing Vakarian hadn't name dropped him like that. Sure, he had been the one to figure out Linea's two dead Asari parents had owed credits to the Volus by finding one of their bank statements in the garbage can outside their apartment but, he hadn't worked alone. Everyone from ballistics to the C-Sec fireteam who raided Bal's compound also deserved to be called out at the briefing. He suspected the Executor called him out by name just so Quarians besides the engineers could get some good press. All he felt like he did was get a lead and try to comfort the girl until someone more qualified could arrive. He was never going to forget the way her clothes had been torn for easy viewing for buyers, while she was thirty five, that was just barely a teenager in Asari terms. It disgusted him picturing who would want to touch someone so young in that way and it was going to take him awhile to move on from the case. Because unfortunately the reporter was right, no matter what Vakarian said right now the investigation ended as soon as it left Kithoi Ward.

His paste heater demanded his attention with multiple beeps at the same time his omni tool started to ring, that was fast. "Look whoever you are today is my day off and I don't have time for an interview. Nor do I have the patience to tell you over and over again details of the case are classified."

"I see the fame of being on the vids has already gotten to your head. Here's a hint, most reporters don't try to get an interview for the first twenty four hours after a story drops just because they know that's the tone they're going to get." His stomach twisted into knots hearing veteran Detective Chellick's voice on the other end of the call.

Lem quickly changed his accented tone to something more professional, "Sir, I am so sorry I just thought.. Keelah I must seem like an ass. What's going on?"  
Chellick chuckled back at him not offended apparently, "You just broke your first news worthy case, it's fine to be a bit of an asshole, especially with how that case went down. Listen, I know you said today was your day off but, I need you down here."

The Quarian sipped the nutrient paste through his induction port before responding, "Chellick your going to have to be more specific than that, give me a run down while I walk to my shuttle."

Chellick sounded uncomfortable as he began, "Pretty gruesome scene on the lower east side. No forced entry, cheap Turian bachelor pad so no theft, just one Turian in his late thirties hung up on the living room wall ritualistic style."

Lem was about to ask what he meant with that last part but decided he would be there soon enough to see for himself, "I'll be there soon, don't disturb anything until I can have a look."

Although Quarians had a lot of disadvantages in life, one of their only strengths was their ability to get on the move quickly. No need to shower or brush their teeth in the morning, their environmental suit would do all of that for them as long as it was functioning out of necessity. It was one of the reasons he had enlisted in the C-Sec academy over eight years ago now, he was able to get to a scene faster than anyone else. Over the years he had gone from just a grunt guard worker who secured scenes, to lead homicide detective in the C-Sec MCU. According to his peers who recommended him for the position, Lem had an attention to detail that rivalled the best in the department. On the other hand, Lem would just describe himself as a meticulous thinker, not better than anyone else, just able to have a different perspective from the more career officers. The problem was this tendency to see things in more complex terms than, 'the wife must've done it for insurance' could draw jealous heat towards him when he turned out to be right. None of them would admit it but, he was sure a part of it was the fact that a Quarian rookie could possibly surpass the previously Turian dominated force.

Speaking of Turians, the address Chellick provided led him to one of the many Turian apartment complexes on the Kithoi Wards. That wouldn't normally draw extra attention for him since very few Quarian apartments existed with the fleet being so close by, however, this particular Turian building was assigned to former criminals. So it was safe to say his latest victim had a wrap sheet, how long of which he couldn't say but, that fact opened up many opportunities for leads. Drug deal gone bad? Another criminal associate angry the victim ratted him out? Perhaps he had debts from his time in prison that he didn't get around to repaying? All of it was technically possible though the fact that Chellick said something about the scene having a ritualistic component to it made Lem think the location had nothing to do with the crime itself. He had also described the scene as 'gruesome' which was a rare word in the man's vocabulary leading Lem to assume a crime of passion. In any case, he ended up landing at the very barren building ten minutes after the call. Time to empty his mind of all assumptions and get to work.


	2. Chapter 1: Murder One, The Traitor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Music for the chapter: Silk Drape - Jason Hill

The first thing Lem noticed about the apartment when he landed, was how crowded the landing zone was. Most of the area was swarmed with C-Sec police vehicles so it was hard to find a place to park. For a felon's apartment building, you'd think there wouldn't be this many officers willing to mourn the guy. Meaning the death was such a spectacle that gossip already spread around the department and thus everyone wanted to see it for themselves. Not only would so much traffic potentially pollute evidence at the crime scene, it was also pretty morbid his fellow officers wanted to oogle a supposedly horrific scene for the giggles. Even though it was early and the Executor looked like he was about to fall over with exhaustion from the Linea case at the news conference, he was about to call him to see if he could clear this up only to understand why so many C-Sec officers were actually here. The many, many reporters wanting a statement.

Despite realizing why news media coverage of crimes existed, to make sure the police were held accountable for their screw ups, he still hated their presence on a scene like this. First of all, they brought attention to the fact that C-Sec was aware a crime had taken place here. Criminals knew they were on a ticking clock to either escape into the night permanently or pull off yet another crime to tug the scent away from the first. Secondly, the media provided a convenient shield for a killer who wanted to return to the scene of a crime. Especially one with apparently this much high profile attention, picking out anyone in a crowd this large was difficult, but not impossible. For instance, he noticed Diana Allers had a new teenage Quarian camera man following her around closely. The boy probably not even over eighteen had his suit clinging to his body extra closely which suggested he had taken a shower recently and it was still drying. Didn't she work alone on veterans stories nowadays? To her immediate left was a reporter from the more racist Human channel, Westerlund News, Lara? Or was it Laura? He could never remember actively avoiding requests from her company to do interviews. This particular Human in question had pale skin and neon bright green hair sticking up in a mohawk. And while he was approaching the police line, he noticed curiously that three Krogan were huddled away from the reporters as well as a dark plated Turian wasn't far behind them wearing an unbuttoned tuxedo jacket holding a bag labled, "Lassius' Donuts."

A hand shot forward stopping him from crossing the police line, "I'm sorry sir, but all civilians have to stay behind this line while we process the scene upstairs. I don't care if you live in this apartment building, you're just going to have to wait. Like everybody else."

It seemed Humanity weren't the only ones who had to contend with racism in all walks of life. This rookie officer assumed he was a felon just like the rest of the individuals living here because he was Quarian. Even after everything they sacrificed in the war against the Reapers, the default assumption was Quarians were nothing but "suit rats" who needed to be locked up. Normally he wouldn't have been angry at all about this, it was what he got for being one of the first successful Quarians on the force and he remembered what it was like working police lines years ago. Unfortunately, his name had been all over the news a mere thirty minutes ago due to the other press conference. Having to say it again now would alert the press that this was in fact a big deal, as well as the fact that he wasn't investigating the Bachjret smuggling operation. Thanks a lot Chellick for calling me down to a scene without telling your officers I was on my way he thought bitterly.

Outwardly though, Lem just gritted his teeth and flashed his omni tool, "I'm not some random civilian. Detective Lem'Nara-"

The Turian officer's mandibles went slack with embarrassment as he finished for him, "Vas Citadel. Sir, I am so sorry I just thought that you weren't umm well you. Your suits are so simila... You know what? I'm just going to quit talking now."

Lem could already hear the reporters collapse in around them, "That's probably a good idea. Have fun with the nest of reporters you just stirred up."

He quickly ducked under the police holo line before any of the reporters could start asking him questions. This was the best lesson the Turian rookie could learn early on in his career, act like an asshole to your superiors in front of the press and immediately draw attention to yourself. Technically he could report the incident to the Exector but, he was willing to let a first offense go due to the circumstances. Next time he wouldn't be so lucky. It wasn't hard for him to figure out he had to go up the elevator to the nineteenth floor since the police holo tape led straight to the elevator and that was the only floor available to access right now. Once there he became far more comfortable with the fewer numbers of officers looking for clues out in the hallway. He gulped realizing they were collecting multiple samples of blue Turian blood. The trail travelled from one of the apartment doors at the end of the hall all the way to the emergency access stairway. He opened the door to see if the blood kept going onto the stairs only to see a cleaning VI slowly making it's way up each flight of stairs.

"Shit." Lem carefully rushed to the first crime scene tech he could find, "Hey, our evidence might actually be getting destroyed on the stairs via a cleaning drone. Maybe you should try to deactivate it before more evidence flies out the airlock?"

Chellick spoke from behind him for the Asari tech, "Owner of the building says the drones are on a timed schedule every morning and he won't shut them down without a warrant. By the time we get to talk to a judge...any evidence would get swept away regardless." He was leaning on one side of the hall glancing at Lem with a curious head tilt, "What took you so long? You usually get here before I do."

Automatically his mind started going through possible scenarios as to why the owner wouldn't shut down his cleaning VI for C-Sec voluntarily. The first explanation was they had something to do with the killing on this floor. Who would have better access to each room than the individual who collected rent? It also gave them plenty of opportunity to revisit the apartment for "legitimate" reasons in order to relive the murder. Until he learned more about the victim though and a possible motive, that was just speculation. The far more likely scenario given this building was for released felons was that the owner knew about lesser crimes committed in the building and was helping to cover them up. Each person living here represented income for the owner and so why wouldn't he want to limit his losses as much as possible? Still it was something he was going to continue to keep in mind as he looked around.

"I got caught up outside admiring the view of reporters outside, what do we got?" Lem asked him neglecting to mention the real reason for his delay.

Chellick gave him a suspicious stare not necessarily believing him but motioned to the apartment door, "It's better if you see it for yourself."

Getting frustrated with the vagueness, Lem snapped on a second pair of gloves out of habit and marched into the apartment. Lem had been a member of the C-Sec MCU for long enough to believe he had seen everything this station had thrown at him, he was wrong. As soon as he entered the apartment he saw what he thought was a dead Turian hanging from the living room curtains. Unfortunately, he couldn't be certain this was a Turian because each and every plate that would usually cover their body had been torn clean off and were mysteriously nowhere to be found. It would require a lot of strength to rip off each plate one by one until all that was left was the Turian's greenish gray leathery hide of muscle. Now that the natural exoskeleton was gone, he could see the victims internal organs pushing against the hide as if they wanted to be free. Specifically, he noticed one of the main arteries of the Turian's heart was poking through the muscle and had been oozing blood. To Lem that suggested his body hit the wall after all of the plates had been removed and the organs reacted to the force. His arms were splayed outwards and his feet were wrapped together in a religious pose. Not only that but, there were half burnt candles lit up making a half circle around his feet.

Chellick followed him inside a smirk on his face, "Told ya this was interesting. Meet Lantar Sidonis age 33, convicted and served his time for a string of robberies he committed eleven years ago. Got out three years ago, lives alone but often has a regular visitor of the loud variety."

Lem gave a quick glance around the room, "First question, where is this guy's exoskeleton?"

His Turian associate shrugged pointing to the blood trail leading out of the apartment, "No idea, we think the killer took it with them out the back. Probably to destroy any DNA evidence we might've found in a fight. Or, they're keeping it as some kind of sick memento."

"Alright, make sure we're looking around at nearby hospitals for anyone coming in with signs of serious trauma consistent with a fight. And what's a visitor of the loud variety supposed to mean? They argue a lot?" Lem asked taking everything in slowly.

Chellick chuckled with a light hearted tone, "That's right, I forgot you didn't come to my bachelor party because you and I quote, 'don't do that sort of thing.' Means Mr. Sidonis here had a romantic partner and their activities often kept neighbors awake. The two of them were apparently so happy together neighbors didn't understand why they hadn't moved in together yet elsewhere. The relationship has been going on since shortly after his release."

Lem dodged the unspoken question at the beginning with, "I told you Asari aren't my type. If the noise was bothering the neighbors to the point that they were hoping the couple moved out, why didn't they call C-Sec to report a complaint? 500 credit tickets aren't anything to sneeze at, especially in this part of the Wards."

Chellick rubbed the back of his neck seemingly very uncomfortable, "Neighbors are giving two conflicting stories, Human neighbor says he yelled that he'd call C-Sec and was told in a threatening manner that he was C-Sec and could get rid of the call. His Turian girlfriend told me she witnessed the talk and Sidonis' partner had a sarcastic tone in his subharmonics like he was trying to defuse the situation with humor."

There was a lot of information for Lem to take in at lightning speeds but, he enjoyed a challenge. What did they already know about the victim? First he was a petty criminal spending years in jail for a 'string of robberies.' That string had to be fairly long or large if the Turian military hadn't released him in the middle of the war. Stealing on a large scale usually required a crew which gave plenty of reasons to want to kill someone. Perhaps he had cheated a member of the team out of their cut and now they wanted revenge? Three years was a long time to wait to get vengence over a past deed but, it wasn't impossible. Second and more importantly, Lantar supposedly had a successful love life after his time in prison. The kind of strength and rage it would take to tear off each plate off a Turian certainly suggested a personal connection. Maybe a break up gone wrong? Could be a possible explanation for all the candles surrounding his feet. The killer was apologizing for what they had done after the fact. They needed to talk to his romantic partner immediately.

Lem walked up closer to the body trying to ignore the smell, "Any description for the other Turian other than he's a good lay?"

Chellick barked out a laugh still uneasy, "The Human told me we all look the same so he had no idea, charming guy considering his girlfriend is Turian. She clarified Lantar's bed fellow was probably in his late thirties light gray plates, chocolate brown hide, and had blue Palaven markings."

The description sounded uncomfortably similar to that of the Executor, Garrus Vakarian. Lem would know because well, he looked at him a lot when no one else appeared to be watching. He was attracted to the Turian immensely, physically and emotionally yet, he would never say so out loud. Partly since it would be utterly against every C-Sec regulation there was, and otherwise due to the fact that Garrus had gained a reputation for being a ladies man. Granted, Lem never saw him with any significant other at all he just saw the way he acted around them. Kind if not a little awkward, nice, conversational even to pretty much any female of any species. He would never embarrass himself by flirting with him only to get rejected, whether Garrus would be nice about it or not.

"So half the Citadel then?" Lem mused noting the Turian military found itself in a very similar place to the Flotila after the war.

Chellick spoke very little, "Eeyup...couldn't find his omni tool anywhere and there aren't any pictures on the walls."

Lem didn't have to be a Turian fluent in subharmonics to know they had the same initial reaction to the partner's description. It was as though this Turian woman was specifically picking Garrus out of a line up without having looked through any photos of the man. However, Lem couldn't see the man, who had taken a huge risk to hire him eight years ago in an election year just because he thought Lem was the best man for the job, being capable of this. So much raw rage went into this killing, he found it unlikely to say the least. The identity of Sidonis' mate went to the back of his mind when he got close enough to inspect the exposed heart artery. Upon a closer look, he could see the bottom edge of the artery had several knotches from a sharp object along the rim. Almost as if the killer was repeatedly dipping something sharp into the open wound to collect blood from it.

Lem got as close to the artery as he could to try and see what type of instrument could have been used, "Did Mr. Sidonis have any heart problems? Looks to me as though a heart monitor could have been ripped out from the inside."

"No, those wounds are probably from the killer getting ink." Chellick told him sounding disgusted.

Lem tilted his head curiously not expecting that answer at all, "Ink....?"

After a nod and a subtle head tilt, Lem found himself following Chellick through the house towards the bedroom. Along the way there, he noted that the dining room table had been set for two with a vase of fake flowers in the middle. His guess was that Lantar had an allergic response to the real Earth flora and his partner wanted to still show some affection. The fact that the table was made indicated that the killing had to do with the relationship, though he did find it odd there was no evidence of food in the kitchen. So, a romantic morning meal of takeout? Someone was in a hurry when they left, why? Was that normal for the pair? His internal monologuing stopped the second he saw writing above the headboard of the bed in Turian blood, "Once a traitor always a traitor, cheaters deserve to burn." Other than the handwriting itself being significant, since the invention of omni tools hardly anyone actually wrote anything down, he found it interesting the motive was yelling at them loudly. So, they were looking for a highly well and old fashioned educated Turian who felt cheated by Sidonis. The temptation would be to immediately jump to the romantic angle yet, Lantar was a thief so it could very well be business related.

"So what do you think?" Chellick asked genuinely curious if he had a working theory yet.

Lem hesitated staring at the wall and the fact that the bed was missing all the sheets, "I think we're dealing with someone smart enough not to write a giant arrow to themselves like that. Does Lantar have any family we need to notify?"

Chellick had that same uneasy expression return to his face, "Parents died when he was a kid, became an orphan on Omega. He does have one emergency contact listed on his medical records though..."

Lem raised an eyebrow wishing he would be able to see it, "Well? Don't keep me in suspense. We need to get whatever information out of this-"

"Garrus Vakarian." Chellick declared cutting him off, "Out of everyone on this station, he names Garrus his contact? Garrus, who has a matching description to the guy our witness saw?"

Those weren't questions he was supposed to argue about, they were rhetorical to make him think. He understood now that Chellick hadn't called him down here because he wanted a partner on the case. Instead the Turian had wanted a second opinion on the matter desperately wanting to be wrong about the conclusion he had already drawn. Lem had to admit that things didn't look great for the Executor when all of the pieces started coming together. As Executor, Garrus would indeed have the power to cancel a call. Plus he matched the description well enough to assume he was indeed Lantar's romantic partner with the emergency contact list being a good data trail. To top it all off, the blood note could be read from the romantic perspective, and Garrus had a good education from what he knew about him. That didn't even begin to factor in Garrus looked like shit this morning during the press conference.

Lem finally turned towards the Turian again, "Let's talk to him, he deserves to know if he's innocent. And if he's not, we'll find out through the evidence not our heads jumping to the first possible answer. We need an autopsy, the scene fully processed, and a murder weapon to get DNA from. Ok?"

Chellick nodded shaken by the possibilities roaming his mind, "Your right. I'll meet you in the shuttle, he's probably at his home on the Presidium." He started barking orders to the techs still present.

Lem left the apartment feeling a little nauseous now from even the fact that Garrus could be connected to this at all. No matter how many degrees of separation there were.


	3. Chapter 2: Old Wounds, Fresh Cuts

"Why do you think it was Garrus?" Lem asked Chellick from the passenger's seat of the older Detective's vehicle.

Chellick gave him a sympathetic glance while he directed them to a lane that would take them to the Presidium, "I mean seems pretty obvious doesn't it? 'Once a traitor always a traitor, cheaters deserve to burn.' seems very explicit if you ask me."

On the one hand, Lem could absolutely see where the other Detective was coming from. Lovers murdering each other because of one partner having an affair wasn't exactly a new motive no matter what culture you came from. What was stopping Lem from jumping on the, "our boss is a psychopathic killer" shuttle was the fact that they didn't have enough evidence. Sure did he sound like the guy the Turian neighbor described? Yes, misplaced awkward humor and all but that didn't mean he was Lantar's partner. Furthermore, the message that the killer left was far too blatant in it's intent. Why would a decorated officer who just so happened to help save the galaxy three times over point the finger at himself so loudly? Unless Chellick was leaving something extremely important out of the story, he just couldn't see it.

Rather than answer the question directly, he decided he was going to get more details about the murder he may have neglected to ask, "Who found the body?"

Chellick narrowed his eyes at the unfortunately busy traffic lane he had chosen for them, "That's one way to answer my question. Uhh.." He quickly flicked his wrist to open his omni tool, "The downstairs neighbor Nasseina Otor. Asari who lives with her Turian husband named Belykan Lanx. She says she's usually used to Lantar making noise but it was always at night so she didn't care because her daughter was always asleep already. Well, this morning she was getting her daughter ready for school and they both heard noises, Nassenia went to confront him about it and found the door was unlocked with Lantar's dead body inside."

"Wrap sheet on the family?" Lem asked automatically only half listening to the fairly standard discovery story.

Chellick frowned giving him a confused expression, "Why would I even ask if either of them have a criminal history? They're witnesses who heard something."

Lem wouldn't lie, he was a bit concerned Chellick would have such a slip up. It was well known to those in the lower class of the Kithoi Ward that the particular apartment building in question was home to Turian offenders and their families after the Reapers were dealt with. More specifically, many called it the dump zone seeing as what passed for the Turian Hierarchy in this new hybrid government "sharing" with the Alliance dumped criminals they had conscripted to fight in the war to that spot. While on the surface, Chellick's ignorance appeared to be really sloppy police work, he shouldn't expect anything more from a permanent resident of the Presidium. He had noticed that a minority of the veterans in the C-Sec MCU were in denial as to what life in the Wards was like. They could never imagine living with criminals that were perceived to not be a threat to society. His experience living on crowded ships where they didn't have the luxury for prison space had taught him how to coexist with the same kind of people that lived in the apartment building.

He decided to play it casual with only a hint of a lecturing tone, "Because for starters, we always look at the person who had last contact with the victim. And secondly, that building is full of people who have wrap sheets. We need to know if Lantar and Belykan have a connection. For instance, he could be a partner of Lantar's in that string of robberies you sort of told me about."

"Oh I doubt that very highly but, I can check for you when we get back to the office." Chellick declared in a matter of fact tone.

Lem tilted his head curiously while watching the other shuttles crawl forward next to them, "What makes you so sure when you haven't seen his background?"

Chellick toyed with the steering control panel debating cutting into another lane, "Because his robberies were of grocery stores Lem, right before the Reapers first showed up. He was trying to get locked up for admitting he got all of his friends killed on Omega. Since C-Sec couldn't care less about what happens in the Terminus we let him go. The robberies were just small stuff even a candy bar he immediately gave to a kid outside the store."

Lem's eyebrows furrowed at that, "Eight years for stealing a candy bar? There has to be more to the story than your telling me."

The shifting back and forth in the drivers seat only confirmed that, "Yeah there is its just...I called you down here with me so you'd have fresh eyes on the whole thing. I don't want to jump to the wrong conclusions based on my previous knowledge."

A part of him definitely could understand that perspective for example, despite knowing Geth saved the homeworld, he recused himself from any case involving them knowing he wouldn't give AI a fair shake. Luckily most of them present for the battle for Earth stayed on the planets surface to help the reconstruction efforts. Still he was disappointed Chellick wouldn't instantly do the same if he feared his past knowledge of the victim wouldn't allow him to keep all possibilities open. At least he brought Lem in for assistance but, now his silence had the potential to slow things down to a crawl. If he had evidence Lantar and Garrus had a contentious relationship at some point in the past, he needed to know about it before they talked to him. The fact that he might have to drag that evidence out of Chellick kind of made him glad the older Detective was retiring later this year. From Lem's perspective, Chellick just didn't have the same energy he did five years ago for murder cases. Not that he was particularly thrilled with becoming the new head Detective for the force when Chellick left mind you.

Lem had a patient tone as he turned his mask in that direction, "If you actually want me to be a pair of fresh eyes I have to be able to tell what I'm looking at Chellick. You need to tell me everything." He motioned to the traffic in front of them, "I have the feeling we have plenty of time."

Chellick grumbled sending him a few files on his omni tool, "It's kinda complicated so just roll with me for a second. I met Lantar shortly after the death of a C-Sec internal affairs agent named Harkin."

Lem tilted his head out of curiosity, "Internal affairs? I thought they lumped that in with C-Sec MCU right after the war ended?"

Chellick bowed his head in a calm acknowledgment which was in stark contrast to him throwing an obscene hand gesture to a fellow shuttle driver, "They did, primarily because of Harkin. When he wasn't supposedly arresting cops for their misdeeds, Harkin was erasing identies under the alias Fade. Apparently, Lantar approached him three weeks before his murder needing to disappear and Fade obliged for the right price."

Lem stopped him to make sure he was still following along, "So, Lantar wanted to get away from whatever he did on Omega but someone was right behind him? This Harkin helped the wrong guy at the wrong time?"

"Exactly, look at the first file I sent you." Chellick requested taking the first opportunity he could to take a right turn from the shuttle wreck in front of Lassius' Donuts.

Lem opened the file to see it was an image of a middle aged Human male laying dead on the floor of some sort of shipping facility. According to the autopsy report scrolling along the right side of the image, it was a painful death. Two kinetic rounds were found in each knee cap, his throat had been stepped on by a heavy foot, his testicles had been crushed, and finally there was another round to the back of the head. Someone had tortured Harkin for information, most likely about Lantar, in quite the brutal fashion. This person had a grudge and judging by the body staring up at him blankly, they definitely had enough rage to tip off Lantar's exoskeleton. His mind drifted to the possibility that they were dealing with some sort of organized crime element from Omega. Everyone knew Aria T'Loaks rule applied to everyone that stepped foot on her rock even once.

He glanced back at the Turian next to him, "So what happened next?"

Chellick's finger pointed to the second file on his omni tool, "That's a week after I started investigating Harkin's death. I thought Lantar was going to confess for the murder."

_Lantar was playing with his hands staring straight at the camera to the point that Lem guessed he had a red sand problem, "No I, I don't know anything about you're dead corrupt ass officer. I'm here to confess my part in the murders of Garrus Vakarian, a Quarian I knew as Jax, Richard Butler a Human, a Batarian named Erash, two Salarians Sensat and Mierin, finally a Krogan Vortash Keshar I think. Are you getting all this down?"_

_Chellick's younger voice sputtered in shock, "Woah there buddy, let's slow down and start from the start. Tell me what happened?"_

_Lantar quickly started to cry, "Blue Suns caught me walking home...snf...tortured me until I told em where...fuck.. Where our place was. I tried, I tried so hard not to talk, they hit me so much. Wouldn't let me sleep or eat. I broke and they're all dead even though I..I tried to get Garrus out before everything went down but he said he had to go back for the others."_

Lem noted the sobbing intensified after that last sentence, "Garrus wasn't murdered so what the hell is he on about? Was he on drugs?"

Chellick shook his head, "No just keep listening, it gets worse."

_The younger Chellick spoke comfortingly, "Hey, listen to me. I don't know how you know Garrus but, Zakea Ward dock workers registered him coming through here last week. Maybe your just confused."_

His gut twisted in knots seeing a disturbing timeline start to fall into place. According to Chellick, Harkin was brutally murdered a week before Lantar came to the station the same time Garrus supposedly arrived. Once a traitor always a traitor made a sudden amount of sense. He could see a scenario where Garrus and Lantar were going to have a romantic morning together only to catch Lantar with someone else. The fact that there was a quickness to the dining room set up made sense as well since Garrus had to give the press conference in the Linea case. Being Executor of C-Sec definitely meant a lot of time away from home, plenty of time to get lonely seeking other attention. One snag in the theory became blatantly obvious instantly, where was the boyfriend? Wouldn't a deranged Garrus have killed them both if he caught them in the act? Whoever killed Lantar wasn't rational enough to let a boyfriend go.

_The recording grabbed his attention once more before he had time to ask Chellick anything, "Thank the spirits, it really was Garrus who threatened me. I was worried it was the other Vortash triplets just pretending to be him. Thank you ancestors."_

_Chellick cut him off still clearly confused, "Wait, Garrus Vakarian threatened you? When? Just now? Do you need to file a report?"_

_Lantar shook his head rapidly letting out another sigh of relief, "No, no, he just reminded me I have to quit running away from the things I've done and take responsibility for their deaths. Will you arrest me now?"_

The recording ended with the older Chellick letting out a sigh, "I couldn't arrest him right then and there because he gave me mostly first names and it happened on Omega thus the robberies. When he was put before a judge he begged for more time due to what he actually did."

Lem was now uncomfortable in his seat, "What happened to the Harkin investigation? Surely what Lantar said would be enough to get Garrus questioned about the Human's murder."

Silence followed for a few seconds, "No one gave a rats ass about Harkin, especially after we found out he was dirty. The commander of that part of the Ward just closed the case after Lantar went to jail. No suspects were ever charged in the murder."

Lem hated criminals getting off scott free, no matter how justified their actions appeared to be. Harkin might've been the worst C-Sec officer in the stations history but Lem would always argue he deserved to stand trial. To rot in jail for the rest of his life, because no matter how painful or prolonged a death was, it still seemed like it was the easy way out. Garrus' father had been a very famous and important member of C-Sec, how hard would it be for him to make a call so the Harkin investigation just went away. Whether Garrus was aware of it or not, there at least appeared to be a cloud of bribery hanging over him leaving a bad taste in Lem's mouth. Although once again everything he was putting together was circumstancial at best. Motive and opportunity didn't automatically equal murder, and he just couldn't picture the sweet, caring, loveable Turian he had gotten to know over the past ten years being capable of either murder.

"I can understand why you think everything fits, I won't deny it looks bad... Thing is, can you picture Garrus doing that to Lantar? A man he may or may not have had a relationship with? There aren't normal signs of psychopathy or outbursts of anger. Isn't this all...too convenient to you?" Lem asked trying to convince himself simultaneously.

Chellick didn't directly answer him, "You were in the war weren't you? I'm sure you saw a fair amount of death that just felt so meaningless. Did you get PTSD from that at all?"

_His heart was pounding in his heart so hard he had no idea if they could hear it from outside the door. Lem had just turned twenty four and returned from his pilgrimage and this is what he came back to? The day had started like any other, wake up in the family cubicle, get standard nutrient paste breakfast, start heading to the shooting range for target practice to become a marine. On the way there though Lem started to hear the signature clanks and groans of the Geth. Moments later, gun fire and explosions coming from the research labs. Oh no, somehow the Geth had managed to slip on board the Flotila. The Alarei was a civilian ship, no way in hell would they be able to repel a proper invasion force. Lem had two options: rush to the armory with the other marines and pray to Keelah they would be enough, or rush to the small childrens care center and find somewhere safe for them to hide. He had chosen the latter, not out of cowardice but because no one else would._

_Now he was sitting in front of the door of what served as a cleaning closet. Lem and the four other innocent seven year olds were forced to huddle together in the tight space with a squad of Geth patrolling the halls right outside. At any moment the Geth could burst through the door and all he would have to defend them was a Predator pistol. He had strategically placed himself in front of the door so that if the Geth moved in on them, he would be the first one to go down. These kids weren't even old enough to understand what was happening to them, he had an obligation to protect them like they were his own. Despite the fact that it probably had only been a few minutes, Lem felt like he had been pinning himself to the door for hours trying not to breath with the Geth right outside. Just when he thought his muscles were going to start wobbling, the sounds of Geth chatter got quieter and quieter._

_Eventually one of the four boys gently tapped his knee, "D...do you think my Mom is ok? She was going to make me brownie flavored paste tonight since I got an A on my test."_

_Lem had to lie, a sobbing child would attract too much attention, "I'm sure she's fine Jona, we had enough time to evacuate somewhere safe didn't we? I'm sure you'll get to have the delicious treat tonight, you just have to wait a little longer."_

Jona's mother had not been alright having been a part of Rael Zorah's team studying Geth technology. She was probably one of the first to go in fact, yet her sacrifice of making the Geth work for the kill had saved Jona, himself and thirty other Quarians out of a crew of 6,000. Along with Shepard who had insisted they try to capture the ship in tact, Jona's mother was considered a hero. He had lost so many friends that day, he still had nightmares about not being able to save them in time. A part of him wondered how Jona was doing and if he had been able to experience the homeworld at all. Hopefully he was living happily on Rannoch with the rest of the Quarians who hadn't left to fight for Earth like he had. However, the entire ordeal on the Alarei was the reason he wasn't able to treat Geth with the same sort of respect as everyone else. So, yeah he had PTSD as Humanity called it.

"Technically I didn't actually fight persay, I manned one of our gun batteries on the Qwib-Qwib. Not close enough to experience death the same way as someone on the ground. But I know what you're getting at, people snap when faced with past trauma." Lem lied having no desire to relive the Alarei right now.

Chellick didn't say anything if he thought it was a lie, "Yeah, so picture this scenario for a moment. Garrus has had an awful night finding that Asari girl with you, he's tired and he's stressed knowing we aren't going to be able to keep the people that were really behind her parents murder accountable because they're hiding in the Bachjret Ward. He goes to see Lantar because who wouldn't want to get comfort from their significant other after a day like that. Only he finds Lantar with someone else maybe in bed, maybe having breakfast who knows. Garrus snaps getting flashbacks of the last time Lantar betrays him and he kills him. He knows we'd find evidence of a struggle, maybe even DNA on the plates so he rips them off. He knows where and when the cleaning crew goes through so he takes the plates with him, goes to the press conference, heads back to his place to destroy any evidence."

Lem had already sort of thought of that scenario, "Your missing one thing though, where's the boyfriend? No body, and if Garrus caught them on an omni tool call, surely the boyfriend would be calling us or showing up to the scene worried."

Chellick tried to give him a hopeful smile, "I hope your right, I guess we'll get to find out soon enough. We're here."

Lem had never been able to visit the Presidium, before or after the war. The place had always been home to the rich and powerful so naturally suit rats who could potentially steal valuables weren't tolerated. The Asari had even objected to Commander Shepard living here due to his wife and especially after the announcement she was pregnant. As far as he was aware the two of them had four hybrid children as well as adopting a fifth living in the Grand Canyon region since it reminded Tali of home. Garrus' residence was simpler than the others in the surrounding area having once been a restaurant before the Cerberus terrorist attack. It was about a block away from Citadel Tower making it the perfect place for the Executor to live in case of an emergency. Quick to respond, and quit to evacuate for safety.

Lem unhooked his seat belt hating this part of any case, having to inform the victims family. "Do you mind if I do most of the talking while we're here? He won't be able to read me as well for obvious reasons and you already think he did it."

Chellick answered far faster than he was expecting, "Lem, the whole reason you're here is because I want to be proven wrong on this. I don't want the friend I've known for fifteen odd years to be a killer. If you could take it away that would be great."

With that endorsement, Lem was confident getting out of the shuttle only for Garrus to open a few seconds later, "What's going on? Has Bal talked? Told us who in Bachjret he was selling kids to?"

Garrus looked like shit, there just wasn't any better word for it. His ocean blue eyes lacked their usual lively energy. Instead of the usual high class attire that the PR department always forced him to wear, he had a white tank top on and dark blue shorts probably just for the decency of company. If this was any other circumstance, Lem would appreciate the way that the pjs highlighted his muscular form more than even the tightest Quarian suits. This didn't look like a man who had the energy to kill his lover, hold a live press conference about another murder, and then rush home to destroy any evidence. Then again, killing his lover might be the reason he was such a mess instead of the Linea case. Lem's stomach also fell to the absolute floor when he saw Garrus' talons had bandages on them. Ripping off another Turians plates with ones bare hands would leave lots of bruises wouldn't it?

For the one time in their upcoming conversation, Lem wished Garrus could've seen the genuine sorrow on his face, "...I'm sorry to have to inform you that Lantar Sidonis was fou-"

Garrus cut him off, "No. No! We talked yesterday morning and he was fine! We had plans for last night but I..."

Lem took the silence as an opportunity to finish his original statement, "Was found dead in his apartment this morning by a-"

Any thoughts he might have had about Garrus potentially being the killer evaporated the instant the Turian didn't let him finish rushing to the nearest trash can to vomit. Garrus couldn't even tolerate hearing his partner was dead, there was no way in hell he would've been able to kill Lantar in such a gruesome manner and then write a message in his blood. Were their still loose ends with Garrus that had to be addressed? Absolutely, their relationship was something he had to learn more about in order to determine if the killer meant cheater in a romantic sense. Could killers have a fake emotional reaction for C-Secs benefit? Sure yet Lem could already tell that wasn't what this was. Garrus wasn't overdramatically crying as loud as he could in order to get the attention of every officer present. He also wasn't an emotionless AI not so secretly happy to see the victim was gone. Instead Garrus was desperately trying and failing to hide the fact that he was crying.

His hands were shaking unintentionally wiping some facepaint off along with the tears, "S-Sorry I just...needed a minute. What happened?"

Lem knew now wasn't the time to hit him, like Jona now was the time to gently lie, "Techs are still examing the body so we'll find out soon."

Chellick added while his face appeared extremely guilty for assuming he had anything to do with it, "You were the only name on his emergency contact list and we wanted to know how you know each other."

Garrus was still slumped over next to the trash can, "We had been dating for almost three years now. Sort of had a thing before that but it's complicated. Last night was our anniversary...and I wasn't there.... The last thing I sent to him was that I was busy saving a little girl..." 

That was the last straw that convinced Lem Garrus had nothing to do with the murder. Whoever had done this had taken the plates to hide any DNA evidence associated with them. Garrus telling the truth that the two of them were intimate defeated that purpose. While not going into details, he had also admitted the two of them had a complicated history with Lantar which could be something prosecutors would use against him in court. This wasn't a man trying to lie to make himself look good later, he was just telling the truth. He was hesitant to ask Garrus any other questions while he was in this state knowing a families well being was just as important as catching the murderer.

Which was why he wanted to punch Chellick when the Turian spoke, "I hate to do this to you but, where were you between the hours of 3 to 6 am this morning?"

Garrus' face looked like he had been hit by a shuttle, he knew C-Sec procedure just as well as they did. "This wasn't an accident or a fall or a sudden heart attack was it...?"

Lem glared at Chellick for another few seconds before gazing back down to Garrus, "No. He was umm hung up in the living room curtains."

After he threw up again, Garrus groaned, "I came home from the docks after we arrested Bal.. Specifically came here so I didn't bother Lantar. Failed to get any sleep so I tried baking a cake for our anniversary. You can tell how well that went." He motioned to his talons, "I messaged him around five thirty to apologize but he didn't answer so I did the press conference and then went home again. Alone."

Lem rubbed the back of his neck, "I have other questions for you but I think they can wait. When your ready can you come see me in the Kithoi office?" When he agreed, Lem took Chellick by the arm, "Let's go."


	4. Chapter 3: Lassius' Donuts

"So....are we going to talk about whatever that was?" Chellick asked him now sitting in the passengers seat of the shuttle looking over at him.

Lem was frustrated with his fellow Detective as he piloted their transport back towards the Kithoi Wards. When he told Garrus that techs were still surveying the scene, he had thought that would be a good enough signal to Chellick not to tell Garrus about the murder yet. Chellick had even said he was going to let Lem lead the interview but, he then proceeded to ask Garrus where he was during the time they assumed Lantar had been killed. Garrus wasn't some idiot who had no idea what the implications of that question were, he was C-Sec's Executor with a decade of experience. And that wasn't counting the time he was an officer before joining Commander Shepard. It just screamed of laziness and a desire to retire, he hoped he never got so sloppy. Every victim, no matter their circumstances, deserved the same level of attention from C-Sec.

He decided to be blunt knowing anything else wouldn't be the wake up call Chellick needed, "Never, ever, push a victim's family who are in emotional distress for answers. That is what I learned day one in criminal justice. Did you just forget? Or was that intentional?"

Chellick rubbed his forehead with a groan, "Asking someone where they've been isn't exactly a hard question Lem. Especially when your trying to rule out a family member as a suspect."

Lem turned his head briefly to glare at the Turian, "After his reaction to the news you think he's our guy? Come on. He wasn't overreacting for our benefit, and he wasn't an emotionless husk either. He was acting like an innocent civilian who just heard the worst news of their lives."

Chellick was just as frustrated now, "Lem, all of that psychological analysis works great on the random run of the mill killer. Garrus has read all of the textbooks you have and knows all of the same tricks we do. We have to look at the evidence and not our emotions related to Garrus."

"Evidence? What evidence would that be Chellick?" He had a sarcastic edge to his voice, "A vague bloody message on the bedroom wall that could mean any number of things. Garrus' connection to Lantar, which he disclosed. Perhaps the fact he looked terrible? You know after freeing a child from a future of sex slavery we can't put a stop to. Chellick, to me it seems like you want it to be Garrus so you can retire having put the Garrus Vakarian behind bars!" He knew he had gone too far with that last bit.

Instead of giving him the opportunity to apologize, Chellick fired back. "And you desperately don't want it to be him because he gives you a hard on and you want him to jump in your suit!"

That insult stung harder than he was expecting it to. First of all, Lem had assumed he had been very subtle in his interest towards Garrus. He never hit on him or made comments about him to others, just looked occasionally longer than he should've. Chellick must've noticed him which made Lem worried Garrus might have also caught on. Secondly, Lem hated someone claiming his personal opinions got in the way of his work. He would've left the investigation solely to Chellick if he and Garrus dated but the truth was the Turian was someone he fantasized about. Now he could say all that at Chellick, however, he didn't think it would do any good until they had tangible evidence pointing in a particular direction. Which was why Lem was taking them towards Lassius' Donut shop. When he had first arrived on the scene ha had seen three Krogan together as well as a Turian wearing a tuxedo holding a bag of the sweets. At the time he hadn't thought much of it but, it was rare to see Krogan in the Kithoi Ward. Plus in his confession from ten years ago, Lantar had mentioned being afraid of the Vortash triplets. He needed to know if the Krogan were connected to the Turian he had saw on the scene. It was at least something to do while they waited for an autopsy.

"Hungry?" Lem asked pulling up to the shop ignoring the argument they just had.

Chellick rose a browplate with a sigh, "Alright...there was just a shuttle crash here which you must've seen on our way here. Who knows if they're even open right now."

Lem had noticed the crash disappointed in the traffic controllers at C-Sec headquarters but he hadn't been very surprised. Crashes weren't supposed to happen anymore as each shuttle had a chip installed which relayed directly to C-Sec tower. Whenever a ship was manually drifting too far from the flight path, an agent was supposed to take control of the vehicle and set it back on course. Problem was each Ward was monitored by hand due to the fear of AI still being strong after the war. At the end of a long shift, mistakes were bound to happen. Even though Chellick made a good point, when they pulled into the parking lot of the shop all of the lights were on and a customer was leaving.

He entered the shop not fully explaining himself to Chellick assuming the Turian would eventually catch on to what he was doing here. Upon just a first glance, Lem noticed this place carried every type of sweet under the sun: from hard candy chewables, to custom designed birthday cakes. There were plenty of themes for the sweets as well; "Hero sweets," showing off Normandy crew shaped candy, "Galaxy of Fantasy," based on the RPG of the same name, and "Blasto approved sugar supplements." The one thing it all had in common? All of it was designed for a dextro audience, meaning Quarians and Turians specifically. While that ruled out the three unknown Krogan ate here, that didn't mean they didn't meet a Turian here as a rendezvous point to hit Lantar's apartment together.

He was surprised to see a female Quarian behind the register approximately around his age, "Hi there, welcome to Lassius' Donut Shop! Is there something I can get for you?"

Chellick was glancing at the menu with a rumble in his chest, "Yeah, I would like the classic dozen but could you drizzle some chocolate on-"

Lem cut him off by flashing his C-Sec badge via his omni tool, "Detective Lem'Nara Vas Citadel, this is my partner Chellick, we were wondering if you've had many customers this morning?"

"We..we were?" Chellick asked clearly surprised that they weren't just going to eat.

He could see the woman was giving him an extra long glance up and down, "Lia'Vael Vas Citadel, nice to meet you Lem. You're going to have to be more specific than that though. We're really popular this side of the Ward."

"Was there anything out of the ordinary this morning? Besides the crash outside earlier." Lem asked doing his best to show he had absolutely no interest in her no matter how pretty she might be.

Lia thought about it for a moment, "Well.. Belykan showed up in a rush, I assume after his shift working at Flux was over... around 5:20 am? Said something about his anniversary coming up and needing something sweet for them to have together on little notice. The thing is, I remember making him something special three weeks ago for him and his wife Nasseina three weeks ago. I remember because it was such a bitch to work with levo ingredients. Who has an anniversary twice three weeks apart?"

Lem's mind started to race remembering both of those names having heard them recently. Quickly flicking through Chellick's notes he saw a Nasseina Otor had discovered the body and was married to a Belykan Lanx. He didn't want to jump to conclusions yet but, he assumed Belykan was the Turian he saw at the crime scene wearing an open tuxedo. The question Lia posed was a good one, who would spend presumedly a large amount of credits on their significant other twice in a three week span? Even his own parents, who loved each other more than Lem knew any couple love each other didn't do that. What if he was celebrating two different anniversaries? _"Once a traitor always a traitor, cheaters deserve to burn,"_ echoed in Lem's mind. He needed to know more about Belykan, at the moment though, he wondered if they found Lantar's other boyfriend. For Garrus' sake he hoped he was wrong, the Turian could only take so much heart break in one week.

Chellick was at least with it enough to recognize the names of people he interviewed, "Did he have you dedicate the sweets to anyone in particular? Do you remember anything else about him?"

Lia shook her head at first, "I definitely didn't ask not wanting to deal with the nightmare that is levo cooking. He took a dozen donuts and started to leave when the shuttle crash first happened. Come to think of it, the shuttle crashed into his vehicle before he could leave. I offered to buy him a taxi ride but, he was in such a rush to get back that he just left without even filing a C-Sec report."

What was so important to get back to that he wouldn't even report damages to his own vehicle? While that question could have multiple answers, the important thing right now was the Krogan and the Turian he saw, most likely Belykan, didn't appear to be connected at all. Did that rule out the Krogan trio possibly having any involvement in the crime? No, he still found it odd Krogan were hanging around a murder scene in a predominantly dextro Ward. Especially when it was a psychological fact killers often returned to the scenes of their crimes to regain the high from the killing. In reality, all their separation meant was that he had two different leads to follow. Lem might've kept going down the Krogan revenge angle first if the double anniversary thing wasn't so suspicious. Even if Belykan had nothing to do with the murder and just had a relationship with Lantar, they needed to talk to him. He might be able to give them insight into his relationship with Garrus from the outside or let them in on other enemies he might have. However, a delicate approach felt right to Lem so instead of going back to the apartment building, he decided he'd go to the bar tonight as a civilian. Without Chellick.

Chellick nodded to her with a smile, "Thank you ma'am, you've been very helpful."

She leaned forward on the counter staring at Lem speaking in a flirty tone, "If I remember anything can I call you on your omni tool?"

The way she was talking to him made Lem have a cooler tone, "You can contact the official C-Sec line with any additional information you might have. They're usually very good about getting everything to me."

Without another word Lem was walking back out of the store to the shuttle. He had never done well in communicating with Quarian women who had appeared interested in him. A simple, "I'm not interested" brought a lot of questions with it that he still didn't feel comfortable answering today because of stigma. Ten years ago, you could be exiled from the Fleet for being gay because you technically weren't adding to the genetic variety pool necessary to improve immune systems in the long run. Even though they had no communications outside of the Sol system, he was positive feelings about gay Quarians probably changed back home. They had plenty of room to spread out on Rannoch so a case of the cold wasn't inherently fatal for millions and the Geth were assisting in boosting Quarian immune systems artificially in a far faster process. However, the Flotila stranded here still clung to the old ways knowing nothing better. It was one of the several reasons Lem lived here instead of on the Flotila.

Chellick came to the shuttle five minutes later carrying a box of donuts with him, "What is wrong with you man? She seemed like a nice girl legitimately interested in you and you don't take the easy opportunity to give her your number?"

Lem activated the shuttle not knowing where he wanted to go next but he wanted his hands busy instead of nervously fidgeting with them, "She's not my type. Can you look up where Lantar was working? I want to see how well he was liked with his coworkers."

Chellick took a bite of one of the donuts, "Mmm...man, what is your type? Because if it isn't Asari or Quarian women...I'm just beginning to see a pattern here is all."

"My type is none of your business Chellick, now are you going to tell me where he worked? Or am I going to have to throw you out of the shuttle right now?" Lem asked getting irritated by Chellick's laser focus on his relationship status.

The Turian held up his hands in a defensive gesture, "Spirits Lem, take it easy. I just think you could use a good fuck to get you to understand why I might want to retire with my family. Looking up his employment records now. Ha, you are not going to b-"

His own omni tool went off, "Detective Lem'Nara speaking."

To his surprise Garrus was the one who replied sounding upset still yet was holding himself together, "I uhh..I'm at the C-Sec building in Kithoi providing blood and DNA samples if you want to come talk to me."

Lem looked at his watch to discover the trip back from the Presidium to the donut place had only taken an hour and a half since they left Garrus' apartment. What was he doing already wanting to talk so soon? He had assumed Garrus would at least want to make funeral arrangements before having another interview. And not only that but also providing them with evidence unprompted. Any lawyer worth his credits would've told Garrus to wait a week before a second interview because going so soon was generally a sign of guilt. However, Lem had to assume Garrus still looked terrible since he couldn't of stayed at his place for too long and gotten to the station before them. Whether it was good or bad optics for the general public, Lem took it as a good sign he appeared to be so transparent with them.

Chellick had a more cautionary mind set given his tone, "Woah buddy, when we said we might need to talk to you again we didn't mean it had to be today. Why don't you just try to relax and worry about yourself right now?"

Garrus had one of the most cool yet angry tones Lem had ever heard from him, "Chellick, I am not some idiot born on the wrong side of Menae yesterday. The victims significant other is always prime suspect number one, me even more so because of our past. I do NOT want the two of you wasting your time looking at me when Lantar's killer is still OUT THERE while we're talking. Anything I can do to rule me out as a suspect today is what Lantar needs."

Lem spoke quickly not wanting Chellick to ruin the opportunity somehow, "We'll be there in fifteen minutes." He ended the call sparing a glance to the Turian next to him, "Does that sound like a killer who would tear off their partners exoskeleton to hide evidence to you?"

Chellick replied in a rather cynical voice, "It sounds like someone who knows the system and wants us looking in another direction as soon as possible."

Of course he wanted them to look elsewhere Lem thought with frustration. Any officer who knew they were innocent and how the system worked would want to clear their name so attention could be brought elsewhere. On the flip side, he did understand where Chellick was coming from. An officer who murdered their lover would also want to draw attention elsewhere to influence the direction of the case to get away with it. Ultimately, it came down to the fact that Lem believed Garrus' grief was genuine while Chellick didn't necessarily agree. Why? Was there something he was missing because he liked Garrus as a person? Or was Chellick rushing to the first possible suspect he could think of just to end his career on a high note? Maybe it was time for him to ask an old friend for some advice when he got home. Right now though Lem had to focus on what was coming up. The interview of Garrus Vakarian.


	5. Chapter 4: Interrogation of an Angel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been awhile but I'm not gone! Updates SHOULD be more frequent now.

Lem stood outside the interrogation room watching Garrus decline a lawyer for the third time in a row even though one of the techs was desperately suggesting he get one. Garrus was one of the most respected Executors of C-Sec in a generation and no one wanted him to go down for something he hadn't done. Yet, the Turian was determined to stare directly ahead and deny a lawyer. Chellick would probably just say Garrus was trying to show confidence he had nothing to do with the killing but, Lem saw a man who knew he was innocent thus he didn't need representation. Perhaps a little head strong, however, that didn't automatically mean someone was a murderer. Thankfully, Chellick had decided to sit out the actual interrogation knowing the two of them didn't work well together in this kind of environment. While he waited for the Drell tech attach lie detector equipment to Garrus, Lem was doing his best to come up with a way to approach this objectively. All he should do was focus on was the current case involving Lantar. There was no need to rehash the old Harkin case no matter how he felt about it.

The Drell slipped out of the interrogation room quietly and nervously glanced at Lem, "Everything is all attached and is already recording his responses."

Lem bowed his head in appreciation making his way to the door, "Thank you Operative Krios, take a deep breath. If everything goes well Garrus will be walking out of here a free Turian."

"I know it's just...." The Drell stared ahead blankly, _"Sirens flash behind me. My hand shakes clutching the M9 I borrowed from Mouse. My finger twitches on the trigger. Before I can fire a Turian clad in blue fires next to me. Stopping the kill..."_ He coughed rubbing the back of his head embarrassed, "He's a good man Lem."

So Garrus had helped multiple team members of his reformed C-Sec, something to keep in mind for later, "I know, he got me this job after all. Be ready to signal me if you detect a lie."

Krios gave him an uncomfortable expression, "I had to umm automate the process to your omni tool actually. My siha hasn't shown up at the daycare to pick up our daughter yet. I have to go get her. The omni tool should just make a discrete beep if he's lying."

Part of Lem knew it wasn't protocol to conduct a lie detector interview without a tech present. If Garrus ended up hiring a good law firm to represent him they could potentially throw out any of the tests results because of it. Normally Lem would make Krios stay or make him find a suitable replacement although with Chellick not around, he was willing to make an exception. First of all, his gut was telling him Garrus had nothing to do with the crime so hopefully there wasn't anything said in the interview that would need to be thrown out. Secondly, Krios was one of the most dedicated C-Sec agents he knew despite just having a six month old Human baby so he deserved the time off.

He tapped the door controls doing his best to keep friendly nonchalant body language, "Yeah, go. I'm not worried about the interview really. I hope your wife is alright."

Garrus' blue eyed gaze bounced around the doorway clearly expecting Chellick to be with him, "I really pissed Chellick off didn't I?"

Lem held as much of a diplomatic tone as possible making his way to a seat across from him, "Detective Chellick has multiple cases going on and thought I should take the lead on this one for the time being." That was a lie, for now anyways, but he wasn't the one hooked up to a lie detector test. "So, why don't you tell me your personal information just so we can get a baseline."

His mandibles vibrated slightly in irritation of the formalities, "Garrus Vakarian, age 36, live on the Presidium, and am godfather to all of Commander Shepard's children. That good enough?"

Lem didn't hear a beep on his omni tool so he relaxed in his seat, "I think so. Could you run through what you've been up to in the last twelve hours again one more time? I know we went over it already but..." He motioned to the lie detector device as explanation.

Garrus wasn't making any kind of sudden movements that could throw that device off, "I started the night off with you rescuing Linea T'Nor and dealing with the immediate arrangements of where she would be staying after we got her out. It was late and I didn't want to wake Lantar up so I went back to my place to get a few hours of sleep before the press conference. When I couldn't sleep I tried making a cake for our anniversary leading to me burning my hands. Turns out being good with a sniper rifle doesn't translate to master chef. I didn't hear from Lantar after the press thing so I went back to my place again and waited only for you and Detective Chellick to give me the news."

"When did you try to reach Lantar specifically?" Lem asked doing his best to develop a timeline of what happened.

Garrus thought about it for a few seconds, "Before the press conference? Around 5:30 in the morning. After the conference I tried to call again...I think that was around 7am."

Lem tilted his head out of curiosity, "You weren't concerned after hours passed and you hadn't heard from your partner on your anniversary?"

"No, there were often times we would both work nights and we don't talk to each other until the next afternoon." Garrus declared in a monotone voice.

BEEP. Lem's heart sank a little when the omni tool told him that was a lie. On the one hand, at least he got confirmation the detector worked on not the worst question in the world. According to this thing, Garrus was telling the truth that they hadn't made contact last night. The problem was he didn't understand why Garrus would lie about not being anxious when Lantar didn't get back to him right away. Saying yes I definitely was worried about my loved one was the normal response in these kinds of situations. His only guess was Garrus had to be embarrassed by the state of their relationship and didn't want their dirty laundry in public record. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the message in Lantar's bedroom, Lem felt obligated to pick at that wound.

He chose his words carefully trying to subtly help Garrus as best he could, "Forgive me, you obviously cared about him deeply if you were willing to burn your hands making a cake for him. If it were me I'd at least be starting to wonder if something was wrong."

Garrus shifted ever so slightly in his seat picking up on the fact he had been caught, "We...hav...had a complicated relationship, lot of trust issues in the past. Was I worried personally? Maybe a little but we've been working on building trust so I've been trying not to be concerned."

Lem knew they had a touchy history but, he needed to know what happened from Garrus' perspective, "What kind of trust issues exactly?"

Garrus' talons tensed into fists off and on, "We originally met on Omega during the two year period Commander Shepard was assumed to be dead. We fell for each other pretty quickly and I trusted him to be a part of my team known as Archangel. Aria got to him first threatening my life in exchange for the rest of my team's. Since I'm still standing here you know what he did."

If the lie detector going off worried him last time, now Lem was concerned he was apparently telling the truth. He already knew the basics of Lantar's betrayal thanks to his own confession, however, the word Archangel was a stunning and uncomfortable snag. Aria herself had been declared missing immediately after the Battle for Earth and many believed she was dead. Lem prescribed to the theory that she was hiding out in Costa Rica since Councilor Tevos' retirement occurred at the same time which was awfully convenient given the rumors they were an item yet that was beside the point. Her former Lieutenants currently running the Bachjret Ward still held the same grudges that their highly respected queen once had. Officially, Kithoi Ward was supposed to cooperate with their neighbors and turn over any known terrorists, the problem was this was Garrus. He couldn't imagine what kind of scandal would unfold when the Executor of C-Sec was handed to a hostile power. Especially after Bachjret refused to play ball with the T'Nor investigation.

His own mind was reeling on how to process the news. On the one hand, Lem was a strict by the books sort of detective. If they didn't have enough evidence to arrest someone despite Lem knowing they were responsible, he would accept the decision and go on to the next case. This was a clear cut confession on Garrus' part with the Turian indicating he was the leader of a pretty infamous terrorist organization. Lem should be getting out of his seat to throw handcuffs on him and send him to the Bachjret Ward. Yet he wasn't. The Quarian was going against his very nature for a couple reasons. Number one being he wasn't the only one to have ever broken a major law. And number two, he just couldn't see the current kind, generous, loveable Turian going on a rampage like that again. That being said, not everyone in the department was going to have the same opinion on this. Lem was going to have to figure out a way to delete that admission from the tape without anyone else noticing. Luckily, he had the perfect option in mind. It was just going to have to wait until after they were done.

He decided just to keep talking as though Garrus hadn't just admitted to something that would get him arrested, "So it's fair to say you and Lantar have had your problems in the past. What about more recently? How would you describe your relationship with Mr. Sidonis in the last three years?"

"Hot to distant." Garrus said automatically rolling with Lem glossing over his illegal activity, "When he got out of prison he called me just to tell me he survived the war. We started talking and then it became much more. Popping the heat sink everyday kind of more. Problems started when I decided not to listen to my dad's advice about being a hands off Executor. Told me getting involved with the day to day of C-Sec would just be too overwhelming. I told him I didn't want to be like that lazy son of a bitch Palin who missed Saren going rogue, Sovereign's debris going missing, and Udina being a Cerberus plant for thirty years... Turns out my dad might have been on to something."

Lem forced himself not to laugh at the crude joke knowing his next question was a somber one, "Do you have any reason to believe Lantar might have been cheating on you?"

The next few seconds were going to be extremely important in the case regardless of what the lie detector decided. Even if Garrus passed the next question with flying colors, Chellick would just say he studied how to beat it and thus irrelevant. So to Lem, it was important to study how Garrus' body language reacted to the news since that was harder to fake. Unfortunately for his own hearts sake, Garrus just seemed to droop further down into his seat like he had been punched in the face. The question had side lined him although he wasn't necessarily surprised by the allegation. Despite not wanting to hurt his feelings more than they already were today, Lem thought it was a good sign Garrus wasn't snapping at the possibility. He in no way was presenting himself in a way that would indicate he was capable of murdering Lantar.

"Why would you ask me something like that?" Garrus asked while toying with his hands refusing to look at him.

Lem decided to let him in just a little into the investigation since he had been a detective for far longer, "Let the record show I am presenting photos of the victims bedroom to Garrus." He pulled up the photo of Lantar's bloody writing on the bedroom wall, "Does this mean anything to you?"

Garrus' ocean blue eyes flicked over the image mumbling, "Once a traitor always a traitor, cheaters deserve to burn." He rolled his neck around clearing his throat, "The message seems pretty clear but, I didn't write that. I was born shortly after the First Contact War so my father just put me in a typing class. Said it would be a better way to communicate with our new neighbors anyways."

No beep, thank Keelah for some good news. "We'll have to look into your education records but thanks for the information. Still, do you have any idea who would write this on the wall?"

Garrus sighed more out of exhaustion than frustration at this point, "Obviously whoever wrote this wants you to think Lan was having an affair and I got him back for it. Whoever they were didn't do a lot of research into my background but, I can't say either way if he was cheating on me."

"Did he have any enemies that you know of?" Lem asked already submitting an education inquiry through his helmets heads up display.

Garrus let out a harsh sarcastic laugh clearly in a lot of emotional pain, "Well, there's all the gangs I've pissed off in Citadel territory. The gangs in Bachjret. Families of the defendants I've helped lock up. Any of Commander Shepard's former enemies, in which there are many. Not to mention any of the obsessed fans he got letters from when he was a dancer at Flux. That narrow it dow-"

Lem tried to not get too excited given the circumstances yet a lightbulb had just lit up, "Wait, Lantar worked at the Flux nightclub? When and how long?"

By itself, the list Garrus laid out would be daunting to any investigator since it probably went back decades. However, the donut shop clerk had told him Belykan Lanx worked at Flux as well and she had assumed he went to the shop after his shift was over. Lanx was important because he owned the apartment below Lantar's and was married to an Asari named Nasseina Otor who discovered the body. Although it was uncomfortable to think about, plenty of affairs start in the workplace. The only snag he could come to was the fact that Belykan arrived at the shop at around 5:20 am and Garrus couldn't reach Lantar at 5:30 am. Considering traffic, and the fact that Belykan's shuttle had been crashed into, there was no way Belykan could have committed the murder. Still, the coincidence was a little too convenient for Lem's liking. All the more reason for him to show up at Flux tonight to ask some pointed questions.

Garrus raised a browplate over his apparent excitement over something so trivial but didn't comment on it, "Since he got out of jail until the day he died. Although I made him quit being a dancer when he started getting really over dramatic love letters from a Krogan."

"Do you still have those on you?" Lem asked trying to juggle multiple leads at the same time.

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly unsure of himself, "I can check but after two years you tend not to keep that kind of thing around."

No matter how inconvenient that was he understood not wanting to keep a strangers love letters, "Well, I want you to look around your apartment for that or anything else you think might be useful to my investigation. In the meantime we're going to wait for your DNA evidence to come back. Don't leave for Earth until we clear you."

Garrus stared at him stunned by the standard normal everyday statement, "I didn't think I was going to have to order you to arrest me after I told you I was a terrorist Lem."

The Quarian stood up pretending he wasn't going to have to delete a second confession in a minute, "I'll keep you posted after we get your results back. In the meantime I believe I report to Vice Executor Bailey until you're cleared from the investigation." Garrus called after him but he was already moving towards his office, "Liat, I have a problem I need you to fix."

His heart was thundering as the door to his office closed behind him. Had anyone heard that? It was definitely a ballsy move to bring her out in the middle of C-Sec HQ but, he didn't have much of a choice when Chellick would certainly want to listen to the interview as soon as he realized Lem was done with Garrus. Liat was a Quarian Ancestor VI that he may have developed into an AI in his spare time. AI were still illegal even today after the Geth helped save the galaxy generally due to fear that they would interact with ruined Reaper technology for harmful effects. However, Liat was programmed with the personality of his long dead grandmother and so Lem believed he could more easily track her behavior. She didn't even know she was dead so she had no reason to look through Reaper hardware.

The old Quarian woman gave him a throaty sigh, her hologram hovering on the table, "Ah Lemy, always a problem with you. What is it this time? Need to hide your search history from Mom and dad? I've been telling you not to be ashamed of who you-"

He cut her off knowing he didn't have time for a lecture or to get caught, "Look, I am transferring a file to you right now. It is vital you delete any references to Archangel. Understood?"

"The comic book character? Alright, if you say so Lemy, but I don't think anyone would care if-" She began while sipping on some alcohol to show that she was working.

He could see Chellick was coming and hissed, "Just do it!" He scooped her up from the table and hid her behind his back opening his office door, "Before you ask, he's mostly clean?"

Chellick crossed his arms suspicious of the wording, "Mostly? So you're saying there's still the potential he's our guy?"

Lem shrugged desperately playing off his fear of discovery, "I more took it as a sign that he was embarrassed by the nature of their relationship. Take a look for yourself and see what you think." He sent over the file praying that was enough time for an AI to do the necessary work.

Chellick pondered over the file for a few minutes, "Nice of you to just take over the case without asking although I don't really mind... Interesting development with the hand writing thing, might be hard to get records though since we can't communicate with Palaven. Let me guess, Flux your next stop?"

Lem was already moving towards the door wanting to spend as little time as possible with Liat in this building forgetting he had brought her to work with him today, "After a few hours of sleep yeah. This was my day off remember? Make sure to call me if we get an autopsy report beforehand though." He didn't even wait to hear a goodbye.


End file.
